Literature Circles Meeting 6

On Thursday, we discussed chapters thirty through thirty-seven. I contributed successfully as a group member both in my contribution of discussion topics and my explanation for confusing areas of the text.

Ariel mentions the part of the book where Francie shares her journal with the reader. She was confused about when Francie refers to Johnny is "sick" and i clarified for her that "sick" really meant drunk.

Alyssa wondered why Katie does not take the money Officer McShane offers her, and I explained Katie's total detestation towards charity. Katie would sooner die than take money from someone as charity.

Andrew was confused about why Johnny would "clean" Francie's leg if it wasn't really dirty and the acid burns Francie. I explained that Francie was so concerned about her leg and Johnny just wanted to make her feel better so he either didn't think about the consequences, or he didn't even know about them.

When i asked my first question, It brought about discussion from Alyssa and Ariel. I asked why Francie and Neeley start over at the beginning of the Bible and Shakespeare's book when they have read all the way through them. Alyssa and Ariel commented on how Francie seems to be getting sick of stuff that is repetitive and/or childish.

My second question was about Katie's strange reaction to Johnny's death. I wondered why she would tell her children not to cry when Johnny dies. After some discussion from the group, we came to the conclusion that it is because Katie is strict and stern and she doesn't want to deal with the chaos of strong emotions.

Lastly, I asked about Katie's dream of owning land, and why she gives up on it and decides not to nail the tin-can bank back into her closet. As group, we decided that it is because Katie realizes just how much land costs from buying Johnny's grave-spot and she sees that it will be too difficult for her to earn the money.

When i shared my passage (Page 293 Paragraph 2), we discussed as a group our different feeling towards Katie. I wanted to feel bad for Katie because of the death of her spouse, but even when he dies Katie still seems so stern and rigid, until she shows real human emotion when she cries.

After everyone shared his or her questions and passage, we moved on to discuss key point of the novel. One point that we stuck with for quite a while was how the tree relates to the story. I said that the tree growing through the cement shows a great struggle and that relates to the people who try to get out of Brooklyn and create better lives for themselves.